The defense was the best offensive production for the Colorado Avalanche, as they got back in the win column with a 7–3 win over the Calgary Flames on Thursday night. While the offensive players chipped in, it was the defense driving plays forward, even with a fresh look.

Jared Bednar sat Sam Malinski for Noah Juulsen, which ended up not hurting the blue liners playing for the second night in a row. Zachary L’Heureux stood out as well in his second game, while awaiting a possible linemate to join him, Logan O’Connor.

However, the unexpected death of his father kept him out of what would’ve likely been his season debut. O’Connor, understandably, will be away from the team for the foreseeable future as he tends to the personal matter.

View From the Mountaintop

The Avalanche’s defense was great, but not on the side of the ice they’re known for. Instead, it was the blue liners who contributed to four of the seven goals scored. Devon Toews got the first two goals, while hometown kid Cale Makar wrapped up the next two. Toews’ first goal came from a shot-pass from Makar off his skate. Meanwhile, Makar simply ripped his shots through everybody to score. In between all that, Nathan MacKinnon absolutely demolished the puck after Calgary was pinned in their defensive zone for almost two minutes.


Jaden Schwartz added on to convert the touchdown and extra point. It included the first career point for T.J. Hughes as well, and he was close to getting his first goal on multiple occasions. While the opening half of the game wasn’t pretty, Colorado did eventually find its legs. It was a nice response after falling on Wednesday night against the Winnipeg Jets. The Avalanche certainly looked like the team in the second half of a back-to-back early on. After a mirage of scoring in the third, they did enough to get back in the win column.

When the game wasn’t going well in the first half, another part of the Avs’ defense was. Scott Wedgewood made his first appearance and start of the season with this back-to-back. After losing out on his starting job from last season, he was stellar. His defense and stops kept a hungry Calgary team back, particularly when the team in front of him was skating uphill, finding their legs. Nonetheless, Wedgewood still showed he can be reliable when called upon and could slot in as the starter again if needed. Plus, he eclipsed 200 career games in the victory.

Up Next

Colorado will head back home, but will still be facing off against a Canadian opponent. This time, it will be Gavin McKenna and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night at 5:00 p.m. MT.